Favorite Teams

'Take Care, New York'

During the city’s “Take Care New York” Campaign, the Health and Hospitals Corp. has taken over responsibility in this borough for being the primary provider of vaccinations and other medical services at little or no cost. The Health Department, in addition to HHC, makes flu shots available to the public in the other boroughs, but the Health Department’s clinic in St. George is partially closed for renovations.

The Health and Hospitals Corp., which is providing such medical care to everybody, regardless of ability to pay, urges New Yorkers: “Get vaccinated. Get Screened. Stay Healthy.”

On Staten Island, flu immunizations and various health screenings will be made available by HHC from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. tomorrow at the Mariners Harbor Family Health Center, (2040 Forest Ave.); on Oct. 18 at a mobile medical office at St. Paul’s United Methodist Church (7558 Amboy Rd.) in Tottenville, and on Oct. 27, at a mobile medical office at St. Paul’s Episcopal Church (225 St. Paul’s Ave.) in Stapleton.

“The Take Care New York campaign helps New Yorkers identify life-threatening and chronic diseases in their early stages, when they are more readily treated and managed,” said HHC President Alan D. Aviles. “A few minutes of preventive care can help add years to your life.”

With flu season under way, the Department of Health is urging people to get vaccinated. It can be a matter of life or death. Each year more than 2,000 New Yorkers die of seasonal influenza and pneumonia, which can develop as a complication of flu.

The federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommends that everyone over the age of 6 months get vaccinated in an effort to avoid getting the flu.

At HHC’s 11 public hospitals (none of which are located on Staten Island), its community health centers and mobile sites, immunizations and screenings are offered for free to those without health insurance. The preventive care is available regardless of immigration status.

If you do have your own insurance, your insurance provider will be billed. You will be responsible for any co-payments that are required under your plan.

To save money that would otherwise be spent on care, the HHC offers screenings and vaccinations for prevention and early detection of some of the most pervasive forms of illness and chronic disease affecting the public.

There are HHC screenings and educational events targeting not only flu, but also diabetes, high blood pressure, depression, asthma, HIV, cancer and other ailments.

Experts report that this year’s flu strains are expected to be the same as they were in 2010, and the vaccine is also the same. But people need to be re-vaccinated because the immunization lasts for only a year.

The vaccine covers three strains, including the HN virus - which is commonly known as swine flu. The illness led to a nationwide vaccine shortage in 2009 after its rapid spread throughout the United States.

There are no such shortages predicted for this year. According to Dr. Theodore Strange, an internist and vice president of operations at Staten Island University Hospital, “All physicians have the vaccine from pediatricians to primary care offices. It’s out there all over the place.”

He stresses that flu shots are safe. They consist of a protein and not a live virus, though cold-like symptoms may briefly appear in the days following a vaccination.

Flu shots are widely offered at pharmacies and doctor’s offices throughout the city. They typically cost $20 to $30. Usually this is covered by health insurance.

For more information about the free or low-cost health care being provided by the city, call 311 or, visit the Health Department’s website (nyc.gov/hhc).